This Blog was created to chronicle our travels in Mexico but has since morphed into something else entirely. Our periodic Mexico travels are still in here but if that is why you came here, you will have to dig a little to get to it. Try searching the Blog Archive in the right hand column.

Saturday, July 22, 2017

Off To Meet Our Cuban Friends

We are off to Brooks and LindaLee's in Shawnigan Lake today to meet our Cuban friends Roly and Cristy who are visiting Vancouver Island. They have a full itinerary and will only be there for the one day (Sunday) but we are really happy to get the chance to see them. I will have photos soon.

Typing Roly in the search engine at the top of the Blog will get you tons of info. In short, Brooks met Roly during his several previous trips to Cuba and when we all went, we hired him as a guide for our short trip to Havana. Roly is a retired University professor (Math and Science) and after retirement went back to school for a degree in tourism. He knows Cuba very well and has connections everywhere. We recently recommended him to Dee and Beach Tillison (long time commenter on most Blogs) for their recent trip there. They became friends when they invited us to their house and put on a big spread for Brooks' 40th birthday in 2000. He now has a guiding and photography company in Cuba.

His website is https://havanamemories.jimdo.com/

With More info here: https://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g147271-d6132524-r198591002-Havana_Memories-Havana_Ciudad_de_la_Habana_Province_Cuba.html

Croft, yes, please say hello to Roly and Cristy for us, and Beach and I hope they have a wonderful trip to Canada.

I have become a nurse for a while since Beach has had his knee orthoscopy since our return from Cuba, and the next step is physical therapy. We put off this surgery until our return; the only way to do that was have the surgeon give him a cortisone shot which is good for about four weeks. One would probably ask, "Why were we hastening our trip to Cuba, especially in the heat of June?" (Cool February is a better time to go.) It's because the Catholic Church had made great strides in mediating a softening of relations between Cuba and the US Obama administration, and we felt that the Trump administration would attempt to destroy the progress made thus far. We were right; the Friday before we were to return to the US Trump signed an executive order to roll back some of the progress, but at that time had not written the regulations to put the order into effect. Therefore, we were able to fly back to Fort Lauderdale from Jose Marti Airport without re-routing through Mexico.

It is getting late, and I'll try to write more tomorrow. It was a fabulous trip and all because Roly made everything so easy; his knowledge of Cuba, his photography work, and the stories he tells are amazing. We have never taken a trip where we have used nothing but cash (can't use US credit cards in Cuba because of the embargo), but Roly made that easy, too. He also knows where all the great restaurants are. Hey, if he reads this, he will blush because he is a modest man. Roly calls Brooks, LindaLee, Croft, and Norma his "friends," but he calls Beach and I his "frienemies." (Ha!). Sometimes it is tough being a citizen of the US.

Beach and I flew Southwest Airlines (the earliest flight) on June 13th, 2017 to Jose Marti Airport on the outskirts of Havana. Preparation for this flight included purchasing mandated Cuban health insurance for one week, which is added to your airline ticket and choosing from 12 reasons (provided by the US Treasury Dept.) why we were traveling to Cuba. From the US, you are not allowed to travel to Cuba as a tourist. We could have purchased our Cuban visa at the airport, but we don't like long lines so we purchased the visas in advance from Cuban Services; there was no line at the airport kiosk to pick them up because they were prepaid. When we arrived at Jose Marti Airport, we were whisked back in time to the 1950s. When we left the aircraft, we walked across the tarmac and into a building, stood in line for about an hour before providing our paperwork to immigration and answering questions. Once Immigration is satisfied with your paperwork and answers to their questions, they will buzz you through a door to an area to have your carry-on luggage checked. Next, we picked up our one piece of checked luggage. Then, we thought we were free to find a taxi and head to the address of the home-stay family, which Roly arranged for us. But that didn't happen; we were called back to Customs because our checked bag was "marked" for careful examination. I had read like the Bible the rules as to what we could bring into Cuba so, of course, Customs could find nothing, and they seemed a little disappointed.

Finally, we were out of the airport, and a very nice taxi driver approached us to ask if we needed a ride. Before I committed, I asked him to show me his vehicle, did it have air conditioning, and what he was charging (because I knew it was a 30 to 40 minute drive to our destination). I agreed if he would personally take me to the currency exchange office for some cash. Beach said that he would watch the luggage, so the cab driver and I headed for the currency office. I had already spoken with Croft about the two currencies in Cuba. It was easy once I understood that foreigners can only use one of the two currencies, the Cuban Convertible Peso (CUC) which is benchmarked to the US Dollar (one CUC will always be valued at one USD). The second currency, the Cuban Peso valued at about $.25US, will be used only by Cuban citizens.

We were finally off for our 40-minute drive in our air conditioned taxi to the Vedado neighborhood of Havana. Our hosts, Maria and Alejandro, were there to greet us. While our room was cooling down with AC, Alejandro took our luggage up to our room, and Maria fed us a delicious meal of tuna, black beans and rice, fresh rolls, green beans and squash, fresh juice, and bottled water. We were starving as we had not eaten but a breakfast roll since early morning. After a shower, we took a nap, but were so tired we did not wake up until the next morning (roosters started crowing at 4:30 am).

Will try to tell you more tomorrow. By the way, the flight was only about 50 minutes. However, the airport processing (at both ends), getting currency, and drive into Havana added a lot of time. One thing that Cubans know that we must learn is that you can't get in a hurry in Cuba because of the heat.

Thanks for this Dee, I find it fascinating and it take me back to my first impressions as well. I particularly like your observation about being, "whisked back in time to the 1950s". That is exactly how I remember it as well. Now imagine Roly and Christy's reaction stepping into Victiria three weeks ago!

Contessa, you are welcome, and Beach said thank you; he also said that he really is a "beast." How did you know! (Ha!) Since my reading is so far behind (now I know why I didn't train to be a nurse), please give Colin a belated Happy Birthday from us.